Written Answers Tuesday 14 March 2006

Scottish Executive

2014 Commonwealth Games

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact it considers that the press coverage of the reluctance of the Chair of  sportscotland to relocate the agency to Glasgow will have on the bid by the city to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Patricia Ferguson: None.

Audiology

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will confirm its support for the modernisation of audiology services and whether the commitment to spend £17 million to start this process will be supported by additional resources if such resourcing is necessary.

Lewis Macdonald: The Executive fully supports the continuing modernisation of audiology services. We are currently commissioning an external clinical audit and a financial audit to monitor progress.

  Ring-fenced funding for audiology will be provided to NHS boards for the next two years. It will then be the responsibility of NHS boards to meet the needs of the audiology service from within their general allocation.

Central Heating

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the future is of its central heating programmes.

Malcolm Chisholm: Both programmes will continue beyond 2006. From 1 January next year, the central heating programme will be widened so that pensioners in receipt of the guarantee element of Pension Credit will be able to get upgrades if they currently have a central heating system but one that is partial or inefficient. Where pensioners have a central heating system that is not working properly but can be viably repaired, the programme will also provide for repairs which cost over £400. In addition, all pensioners applying to the programmes will be eligible for a free personal benefits health check from the Pensions Service.

  To maximise the benefits of the programme, the amount of money available for each installation will be capped. This will be set at a level sufficient to allow the installation of all the necessary measures. This amount will be kept under review to make sure it is still appropriate in light of changes in costs.

  Alongside the programmes, we will run a pilot study to explore the potential of renewable energy technology options for heating in a variety of domestic settings across Scotland with a view to considering including these technologies in the main central heating programme at a later date.

  The necessary regulations to implement the new programmes will be laid before Parliament in due course.

Climate Change

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to complement the £6 million Climate Challenge Fund which was established by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to support local-level projects in England aimed at raising awareness and changing attitudes to climate change.

Ross Finnie: We will be reviewing our climate change communications in the light of Scotland’s Climate Change Programme, due to be published soon, and in the context of the sustainable development communications plan, due to be published this spring. As part of the review process we will be considering how our communications can complement existing and forthcoming climate change awareness raising initiatives such as Defra’s Climate Challenge Fund.

Construction Industry

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its assessment is of the impact of the 2012 Olympic Games in London on the availability of technicians and construction workers in Scotland and whether it agrees with the comments of John Methven, Director of European Operations at Petrofac, reported in The Scotsman on 18 November 2005, that "this is definitely a concern".

Allan Wilson: We have measures in place to minimise the impact of the 2012 Olympic Games on the availability of technicians and construction workers in Scotland. Current industry research indicates that the overall size of the construction activity needed for the 2012 Olympics will be at its highest in 2010. It will account for 3.7% of the total Greater London construction output for that year and the share of the Olympics construction employment for 2010 is 2.7% of the total Greater London employment.

  In Scotland, the volume of public sector work forecast within the Executive's Infrastructure Investment Plan over the next 10 years and the increasing awareness of this within the construction industry should encourage the private sector to develop additional capacity to ensure that they can respond effectively to Scotland's requirements.

  In addition, Scottish Enterprise has designated construction as a priority industry and are leading on the Construction Skills Action Plan which is supporting the industry’s efforts to alleviate skills shortages.

  Across the UK, CITB-ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council for the construction industry, has been tasked by Government to identify the skills needs facing the sector and to work with employers, stakeholders and Government to effect change to meet those needs. CITB-ConstructionSkills completed work developing their Sector Skills Agreement (SSA) in September 2005 and are now implementing the action plans contained within it. The SSA sets out plans to assess current and future skills needs to meet the demand placed on the sector in the light of the 2012 Olympic Games.

Dairy Industry

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how much unused dairy quota there was in the Southern Isles ring fence area in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Ross Finnie: Information on milk quota utilisation is collected by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). In the milk quota year 2004-05 there was 1,775,219 litres of unused quota in the Southern Isles ring fence area. Figures are not available for previous years as prior to quota year 2004-05 milk purchasers were not required to supply the RPA with this information.

Dairy Industry

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dairy cows there were in Kintyre in (a) 2000 and (b) 2005.

Ross Finnie: The following table provides information on the number of dairy cows in Kintyre in 2000 and 2005.

  

Year
No. of Dairy Cows


2000
5,256


2005
4,601



  Source: 2000 and 2005 June, Main and Minor Agriculture Census.

Dairy Industry

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dairy farmers there were in Kintyre in (a) 2000 and (b) 2005.

Ross Finnie: The following table provides information on the number of dairy holdings, together with the number of occupiers, in Kintyre in 2000 and 2005.

  

Year
No. of Holdings
No. of Occupiers


2000
64
61


2005
50
48



  Source: 2000 and 2005 June, Main and Minor Agricultural Census.

Dairy Industry

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dairy farmers there were in the Southern Isles ring fence area in (a) 1995, (b) 2000 and (c) 2005.

Ross Finnie: The following table provides information on the number of dairy holdings situated within the Southern Isles milk quota ring-fence area in 1995, 2000 and 2005.

  

Year
No. of Holdings


1995
139


2000
117


2005
99



  Source: 1995, 2000 and 2005, June Main and Minor Agricultural Census.

Dairy Industry

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive when it estimates that the milk quota system will end.

Ross Finnie: The CAP reform package, agreed at the EU Agriculture Council in Luxembourg in July 2003, provided for the extension of the milk quota system until 2015, with a review in 2008.

Dairy Industry

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive when Cowal was brought into the Southern Isles ring fence area and what effect its entry had on dairy farmers already within the ring fence.

Ross Finnie: Changes to the definition of the "Scottish Islands area" (known as the Southern Isles ring fence) were made by The Dairy Produce Quotas (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2004, which came into effect on 1 April 2004. This had the effect of bringing into the Southern Isles ring fence certain parts of the Cowal peninsula.

  No specific assessment has been made of the impact of this change on dairy farmers already within the ring fence, but the Executive continues to monitor the general operation of the Scottish ring fence arrangements.

Dairy Industry

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive when Islay was removed from the Southern Isles ring fence area and what effect its removal had on dairy farmers who remained within the ring fence.

Ross Finnie: A change to the definition of the "Scottish Islands area" (known as the Southern Isles ring fence) was made by The Dairy Produce Quotas Amendment (No 2) (Scotland) Regulations 2000, which came into effect on 29 November 2000. This had the effect of excluding the island of Islay from the Southern Isles milk quota ring fence area.

  No specific assessment has been made of the impact of this change on dairy farmers who remained within the ring fence, but the Executive continues to monitor the general operation of the Scottish ring fence arrangements.

Dairy Industry

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the Southern Isles ring fence promotes the interests of all dairy farmers within its area and how it assesses whether this is the case.

Ross Finnie: The milk quota ring fence arrangements were introduced primarily to safeguard the supply of milk to the island and Campbeltown creameries and to ensure that dairy producers had a local market for their output. Consultation and contact with local stakeholders, including First Milk (as the majority owner of the Campbeltown, Rothesay and Arran creameries) and NFU Scotland, continues to indicate strong support for the retention of the Southern Isles ring fence.

  The Executive continues to monitor the operation of the Southern Isles and Orkney ring fences. Changes to the geographical coverage of the ring fences have been made in the past to accommodate changing circumstances - such as the closure of the Islay creamery in 2000.

Dentistry

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a target date for all adults in (a) the Borders, (b) Dumfries and Galloway and (c) Scotland having access to an NHS dentist and, if so, what that date is.

Lewis Macdonald: Provision of dental services in each NHS board area is the responsibility of that NHS board. Both Borders and Dumfries and Galloway have been designated for the purpose of assisting those boards to recruit and retain NHS dentists.

  Across Scotland, the Dental Action Plan will secure an additional 200 dentists by 2008, and provides additional funding of £295 million over three years. Around 80% of this funding will go to high street dentistry, including enhanced rewards and incentives for general dental practitioners to continue to treat all categories of patient on the NHS, and funding for NHS boards to deliver a salaried service.

Dentistry

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) children and (b) adults living in each NHS board area were registered with an NHS dentist in 2005.

Lewis Macdonald: The information requested can be found at Child and Adult Registrations by Year on the Scottish Health Statistics website: http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/info3.jsp?pContentID=990&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show& .

Dentistry

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many specialist paediatric dentists are in post, broken down by NHS board.

Lewis Macdonald: Paediatric dentistry is a hospital-based dental specialty in which children who have facial and dental anomalies, have been involved in dento alveolar trauma, have special needs or who are fearful or resistant to care by general dental practitioners are treated. There were 10 such specialists in Greater Glasgow, seven in Lothian and six in Tayside, as at 30 September 2005.

Dentistry

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to attract a significant number of NHS dentists to Moray.

Lewis Macdonald: Responsibility for the provision of dental services in the Moray area rests with NHS Grampian. NHS Grampian already employs salaried dentists in the area and are actively seeking ways of increasing this service. To this end NHS Grampian has been the recipient of funding from the Executive’s Primary and Community Care Modernising Programme for a new seven surgery dental unit in Elgin and a three surgery dental unit in each of Buckie and Keith.

Dentistry

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received regarding its incentive scheme to encourage more practices to treat NHS patients.

Lewis Macdonald: The Executive has received a number of responses from dentists and others in relation to the new allowances we have provided to dentists committed to the NHS. Some of these express a view about the new system, and others are technical inquiries about its practical implementation.

Dentistry

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it decided where to deploy recent overseas dental recruits.

Lewis Macdonald: In the case of the recent deployment of Polish dentists to support the NHS in Scotland, NHS boards were asked to indicate to the Executive the number of dentists which they could accommodate in their salaried service, provided they had the appropriate facilities and support staff. The Executive allocated dentists to NHS boards after these requests were submitted. The dentists were placed into NHS board areas that indicated that they could provide accommodation and support immediately, and that will continue to be the only requirement for placing the two further groups of Polish dentists who will become available later this year.

Dentistry

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the ratio of NHS dentists to patients has been in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is shown in the following table.

  Number of NHS General Dental Practitioners1,2 Per 100,000 Population, by Local Authority3 Area, at 30 September

  

Local Authority
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
20054


Aberdeen City
40.1
38.9
38.7
40.1
44.0
46.7
45.2


Aberdeenshire
27.7
26.4
26.4
24.2
24.0
25.8
27.5


Angus
37.4
35.8
36.9
37.9
38.1
35.9
38.7


Argyll and Bute
36.0
37.3
36.1
36.3
36.1
36.2
42.8


Scottish Borders
33.1
33.9
35.5
38.2
34.2
30.2
31.1


Clackmannanshire
35.2
37.4
35.4
37.6
33.6
37.3
37.3


West Dunbartonshire
42.4
38.3
39.6
37.7
36.8
35.9
40.2


Dumfries and Galloway
27.0
27.1
25.0
26.5
27.9
28.4
27.7


Dundee City
46.0
48.4
48.8
49.9
51.0
55.0
56.4


East Ayrshire
34.0
33.3
31.6
30.1
34.3
36.8
34.2


East Dunbartonshire
46.0
45.1
48.0
50.3
54.2
59.1
62.9


East Lothian
46.0
45.6
41.0
46.3
48.3
49.1
47.0


East Renfrewshire
48.6
47.2
47.0
46.9
49.1
49.1
54.7


City of Edinburgh
50.8
50.6
52.3
54.5
53.5
52.5
56.2


Falkirk
33.9
34.6
35.1
32.3
31.5
32.6
30.5


Fife
37.2
37.6
38.0
38.8
38.3
36.1
42.3


Glasgow City
46.8
48.5
48.6
51.4
50.3
53.3
55.0


Highland
39.7
37.8
38.8
40.8
38.7
40.7
45.4


Inverclyde
37.5
36.6
40.4
39.5
40.9
38.8
40.0


Midlothian
36.0
34.5
32.1
31.1
31.4
33.9
32.7


Moray
26.5
25.4
23.0
24.2
25.2
29.6
30.8


North Ayrshire
37.9
35.9
36.8
36.9
37.5
36.0
39.7


North Lanarkshire
35.7
35.5
37.1
36.7
38.8
41.5
42.1


Orkney Islands
25.7
31.1
26.0
31.2
46.6
41.0
51.3


Perth and Kinross
39.2
40.7
42.2
46.6
44.9
46.5
53.1


Renfrewshire
46.4
48.9
52.6
49.4
52.6
49.2
50.4


Shetland Islands
35.5
36.1
45.5
50.1
54.9
54.7
45.6


South Ayrshire
45.2
43.6
46.4
45.7
44.8
49.2
48.3


South Lanarkshire
42.0
41.4
40.4
40.1
40.9
40.6
40.9


Stirling
42.1
42.9
44.1
45.3
47.5
47.5
50.9


West Lothian
43.3
40.8
37.7
39.4
38.5
39.9
39.9


Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
40.4
44.8
41.6
30.5
30.7
26.7
30.5


Scotland
37.0
37.0
37.8
38.5
39.1
39.5
41.4



  Sources: MIDAS (Management Information and Dental Accounting System). GROS (General Register Office for Scotland), mid-year population estimates, 1999-2004.

  Notes:

  1. Comprises non-salaried and salaried NHS principal general dental practitioners, including joint appointments. Information on NHS dentists working in the Hospital and Community Dental Service is not available by local authority.

  2. An NHS general dental practitioner may have more than one contract with an NHS board if he/she has more than one practice, or a contract with more than one NHS board if he/she practises in more than one NHS board area. As a result, the sum of the number of dentists in each local authority area exceeds the number of dentists practising in Scotland.

  3. Based on location of dental practice.

  4. Due to improvements in the collection of information on General Dental Service (GDS) salaried dentists, figures for September 2005 include some GDS salaried dentists who were not previously recorded. There are a number of cases where a salaried post will be recorded under a generic name and not under the name of a specific dentist. A number of dentists may work in this post at any given time. For years prior to September 2005 it was assumed that, since there was no named individual recorded, a permanent dentist was not in post. As a result, all posts recorded without a named individual were previously excluded from GDS salaried dentist counts. However, information is now available on the individuals who fill these posts. These dentists are now included in the GDS salaried dentist count, which has resulted in an increase in the number of salaried dentists from 93 at 30 September 2004 to 187 at the 30 September 2005.

Dentistry

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS dentists are needed to meet its pledge to provide free dental checks for everyone by 2007.

Lewis Macdonald: Implementation of free NHS dental checks will be undertaken by the existing dental workforce and the additional dentists we are putting in place as outlined in the Action Plan for Improving Oral Health and Modernising NHS Dental Services in Scotland .

Diabetes

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how the diabetes framework and the managed clinical network for diabetes have benefited patients with diabetes in each NHS board area.

Mr Andy Kerr: Managed clinical networks for diabetes and the Scottish Diabetes Framework have made significant progress in developing and improving the standards of diabetes care in Scotland. The networks bring together health care professionals throughout an area to plan services, share best practice and facilitate working across professional boundaries. This is especially important for managing diabetes, which can cause such a variety of complications. The networks also offer direct opportunities for people with diabetes to become involved in planning services.

  Specific achievements include the development of diabetes registers and the implementation of the SCI-DC diabetes information system. This allows both individuals and populations to be tracked to make sure they have access to regular monitoring and treatment for the risk factors of diabetes. Diabetes networks have also been instrumental in developing a national diabetes retinopathy screening programme, which will roll out later this month. The framework has supported various initiatives, including improved patient education and targeted work within minority ethnic groups who are at greater risk of developing diabetes.

  The Scottish Primary Care Collaborative implemented alongside the Diabetes Framework has helped 31% more patients to achieve good blood glucose control (HbA1c below 7.5 mmol/l), 49% more patients to achieve controlled cholesterol (less than 5mmol/l) and 34% more patients to meet recommended blood pressure levels (less than 140/80).

Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions brought under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005 have been as a result of acts perpetrated against nurses or midwives.

Colin Boyd QC: The Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005 came into force in May 2005 and since then procurators fiscal have commenced prosecutions in respect of 90 charges under section 5(1) of the act which relates to the offence of assaulting or impeding health workers.

  It is not possible to extract information from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s (COPFS) Case Management Database to determine how many reported charges in terms of the act relate specifically to nurses or midwives.

  Note: This information has been extracted from the COPFS Management Database. The database is a live, operational database used to manage the processing of reports submitted to procurators fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies. The database is charge-based. The figure quoted therefore relates to the number of charges rather than the number of individuals charged or the number of incidents that gave rise to such charges.

Employment

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made since the Minister for Environment and Rural Development’s letter to me of 2 June 2005 regarding the employment of immigrant workers at Monaghan Middlebrook Mushrooms at Drem in East Lothian and its enquiries regarding compliance with agricultural wages legislation.

Ross Finnie: Analysis of the information gathered during the inspection of pay records for May 2005 at Monaghan Middlebrook Mushrooms, Drem, East Lothian, on 6 June 2005 showed that some workers were being underpaid.

  As a result, the employing agencies supplying staff for this site were asked to produce full records dating back to February 2005. Satisfactory information was not received until 14 February 2006. The analysis of this payroll information, for 180 workers, is nearly complete. We expect to inform the employment agencies of the outcome of our investigations by 31 March 2006.

European Funding

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of its block grant under each previous settlement was received as a consequence of EU funding allocations to HM Treasury, broken down by settlement.

Allan Wilson: HM Treasury does not receive EU funding allocations. EU funding is received by UK Departments to fund European Structural Funds as well as a number of other EU programmes. The level of EU funding to European Structural Funds programmes allocable to the UK is agreed with other member states. The amount of EU funds received by UK Departments to fund European Structural Funds programmes reduces the UK rebate on a "pound for pound" basis. Scotland’s allocation in each Spending Review is determined in line with the process set out in the relevant Statement of Funding Policy.

Fisheries

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to scrutinise the issuing of licences to dredge, fish for or take cockles under the Solway Firth Regulated Fishery (Scotland) Order 2006.

Ross Finnie: Section 4(5) of the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967 (the 1967 Act) requires that where the grantee of a Regulating Order does not propose to issue a licence to all applicants then it must notify the Scottish ministers of its intention. In such circumstances the Scottish ministers may give directions to the grantee including in relation to the number of licences I to be issued and the persons to whom licences should be issued.

  Under Section 4(6) of the 1967 Act, if the grantee withholds licences without complying with Section 4(5) then the grantee shall be taken not to be properly carrying into effect the restrictions imposed by the Order. In terms of section 5(1) of the 1967 Act, where the Scottish ministers are not satisfied that the grantee is properly carrying into effect the restrictions imposed by the Order, they may remove the grantee’s rights under the Order.

  Under Section 5(2) of the 1967 Act the appropriate minister may ask an inspector or other person to make inquiries or an examination in relation to a Regulating Order fishery including the licensing arrangements.

  In the case of the Solway Regulating Order the licensing arrangements were one of the issues covered by the inquiry into the then proposed regulated fishery last autumn. The inspector’s only recommendation on licensing criteria related to vessel licensing and was conveyed to the SSMA. It will feature in a further assessment of vessel licensing, in which the Scottish Executive will have an involvement, once the coming short spring opening of the fishery has run its course.

Fisheries

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Solway Shellfish Management Association is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 in respect to its authority to issue licences on behalf of Scottish ministers to dredge, fish for or take cockles within the Solway Firth regulated fishery.

Ross Finnie: The Solway Shellfish Management Association is not subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Fisheries

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether an officer, as referred to in section 5 (9) of the Solway Firth Regulated Fishery (Scotland) Order 2006 as authorised by the Solway Shellfish Management Association, may include officers from the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency and Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and how such authority is conferred on these officers in terms of the Order.

Ross Finnie: The reference to an "officer" in section 5(9) of the proposed Solway Firth Regulated Fishery (Scotland) Order 2006 is to an officer of the Solway Shellfish Management Association and not to officers from the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency or Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary.

  On the basis, however, that a number of different offences might be committed in association with illegal fishing, the Solway regulated fishery would be enforced on a multi-agency basis. This would include other organisations such as Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and the Health and Safety Executive, carrying out their respective roles and exercising their existing statutory and common-law powers in conjunction with actions by the Solway Shellfish Management Association.

  The Scottish Executive is currently seeking to augment the provisions for the enforcement of Regulating Orders using the Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill. Options include enabling the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency to apply its powers within a regulated fishery and to confer upon the grantees of Regulating Orders those relevant powers of the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency. These options remain subject to the bill’s passage through Parliament.

Justice

Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Lord Advocate will announce his decision on whether there should be a Fatal Accident Inquiry into the deaths of Rory Blackhall and Simon Harris.

Colin Boyd, QC: Following receipt of a report on the afternoon of 18 August 2005 that 11 year-old Rory Blackhall had, unbeknown to his family, failed to attend Meldrum Primary School that morning, Lothian and Borders Police immediately launched an investigation into his disappearance.

  Tragically for the Blackhall family, following an extensive search involving large numbers of police officers, volunteer search and rescue agencies, and members of the local community, Rory’s body was found on 21 August 2005 in a wooded area to the rear of Woodlands Park, Livingston. The police investigation into his disappearance was immediately converted into a full-scale murder enquiry.

  Over the course of the following week, a team of experienced police officers and forensic experts worked together to engather all of the available evidence. Their investigations led the police to identify Simon Harris as a potential suspect and, on 28 August 2005, officers forced entry to his home at Camps Rigg in Livingston. On searching within the house, the police found Simon Harris’ body. It was clear that he had taken his own life.

  There was considerable speculation at the time about the circumstances of Rory’s death, much of which was unhelpful to the on-going inquiry, and some of which was upsetting for the Blackhall family, who have remained in touch with the Procurator Fiscal at Linlithgow throughout the subsequent inquiry. Out of respect for them, I do not intend to provide details of the evidence that was engathered by Lothian and Borders Police in the course of their investigation into Rory’s death save that, based on all the available evidence, it can be said with some certainty that Rory was killed shortly after his disappearance on the morning of 18 August 2005 and that he died as a result of being asphyxiated.

  I am, also able to confirm that had Simon Harris been found alive, the available evidence would have been sufficient to charge him with Rory Blackhall’s murder. There is no evidence to implicate any other person in any way with Rory’s disappearance or his death.

  This tragic death shocked and saddened the local community in Livingston, and the people of Scotland as a whole. Understandably, there was a desire to find out what had happened, and to have some reassurance that, where possible, steps would be taken to try to avoid a similar tragedy in the future.

  A number of particular concerns have been raised, all of which have now been the subject of careful consideration by me, in the context of assessing whether there would be any benefit to be derived from further investigation or the holding of a Fatal Accident Inquiry.

  Bail

  Concern was expressed over the fact that Simon Harris was on bail at the time of Rory’s murder. Simon Harris had appeared on petition at Linlithgow Sheriff Court on 28 February 2005, in relation to charges of assault and lewd and libidinous behaviour towards three girls. These charges arose out of complaints of historical abuse, alleged to have occurred between 1983 and 2000. Simon Harris was released on the standard conditions of bail together with a special condition that he should have no contact with the complainers.

  In deciding whether to oppose bail, the Procurator Fiscal must consider a number of factors. These include whether the accused is already on bail at the time of the commission of the alleged offence, or has a record of relevant previous convictions and whether there is any evidence that the accused will abscond, re-offend, or interfere with witnesses.

  In the case of Simon Harris, the Procurator Fiscal had no basis upon which to oppose Simon Harris’ bail and seek his remand in custody. It was, however, appropriate to seek a special condition of bail and that was done.

  This decision, which I believe was the correct one in the circumstances, was taken after careful assessment of all of the information available to the fiscal at the time, and in particular, the fact that

  He was not charged with breaching any previous bail order and was not known to have any record of failing to appear in court

  He had no pending cases for similar matters

  His only previous convictions were for two minor matters (wasting police time and road traffic in 1988 and 1999 respectively) for which he had been fined on both occasions.

  The offences were alleged to have been committed many years earlier, with no record of offending in the ensuing five year period.

  Although, because of subsequent events, any present assessment of Simon Harris may be potentially different, at the time this decision was made there was no information to suggest that he was likely to re-offend, and no basis to suggest that he would carry out a crime such as the murder of Rory Blackhall.

  Simon Harris’s failure to appear at court

  When Simon Harris failed to appear on Monday 22 August 2005, a warrant was sought and granted for his arrest. This was received by the Procurator Fiscal the following day. In accordance with established practice, that warrant was not issued to the police, but the Procurator Fiscal prepared a fresh petition to the court so that the accused would face an additional charge of breaching bail through his failure to appear, and the police would have a warrant that would allow them to arrest him and bring him immediately before the court. The fresh petition warrant was received by the Sheriff Clerk on Wednesday 24 August and subsequently granted by the sheriff. The Procurator Fiscal received the warrant on Monday, 29 August 2005. Had Simon Harris’ body not been discovered by that point, this warrant would have been issued to the police at that time, allowing them to arrest him.

  In terms of the protocol in place between COPFS and the Scottish Court Service, a request for a Petition warrant should be considered within two working days and the warrant transmitted back to COPFS within one further working day. These timescales can be expedited if there are reasons for doing so, but as there were no extraordinary features surrounding the non-appearance, and in particular, no link between Simon Harris and Rory Blackhall at that time, the warrant was dealt with under the usual procedures.

  Concerns have also been expressed about the fact that no connection was made immediately between Simon Harris’ failure to appear at Linlithgow Sheriff Court on 22 August 2005 in relation to the charges of historical abuse and the on-going inquiry into and Rory Blackhall’s death.

  There was, however, no information available to suggest that Simon Harris might have been involved in a crime such as this. The circumstances of the charges he faced were different, involving historical allegations in relation to persons who were known to him. His failure to appear and the subsequent warrant for his arrest were therefore dealt with in line with existing procedure. Simon Harris had committed the murder over a week before he failed to attend court.

  It is also now known that Simon Harris was in hospital when his case called on 22 August 2005 and that he had asked hospital staff to inform his legal representatives of the position. Unfortunately, that message did not reach them. Had the information been available to the court, the warrant would not have been granted.

  Best practice in relation to warrants for the arrest of accused persons is constantly under review, to ensure that the most effective systems are in place. There is an on-going comprehensive review of the present system for processing and prioritising warrants under the auspices of the National Criminal Justice Board. This will lead ultimately to revised arrangements between the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS), the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) and the Scottish Court Service on the prioritisation of warrants and service level agreements that will ensure that there are fast, accurate and workable practices throughout the whole warrants process.

  Patient Confidentiality

  Simon Harris had admitted himself to St John’s Hospital, Livingston in the early hours of 22 August 2005, the day he was due to appear in court. He was discharged later that day. During the period he was in the hospital some of the nursing staff thought he may have been a person of interest to the police. They passed on that information on 26 August 2005. The delay appears to have been due in part to some uncertainty over the extent of their duty of confidentiality. It is unlikely that that information, even if it had been supplied earlier, would have changed the course of events but the uncertainty suggests that further clarification in this area is required.

  I am aware that the Minister for Health has set in motion further work in this area involving officials from his department, ACPOS, Crown Office, Justice Department and relevant professional bodies. The group will examine the national guidance on information sharing between the NHS and the police to ensure that staff who may have to make decisions which call for them to balance issues about patient confidentiality, public safety and the investigation of serious crime have ready access to support and guidance from senior staff.

  School non-attendance guidelines

  During the investigation into the circumstances of Rory’s disappearance, it became clear that the alarm over Rory’s disappearance was only raised after his grandfather attended to collect him at his primary school, at the end of his school day. The Blackhall family had received no intimation of his non-attendance until that point. They have expressed concern about this.

  Investigations have revealed that Rory’s school, Meldrum Primary in Livingston, did have procedures in place to deal with absenteeism, based on the working guidelines set down by the Scottish Executive Education Department but they were not fully effective in this instance.

  Following Rory’s death, the Scottish Executive Education Department asked all local education authorities to provide information on their current practice where a child, who is expected at school, does not arrive. The information that was received from the local authorities will lead to new guidance being issued to all Education Authorities later this year. This guidance will advise on best practice and the procedures to be followed when a child is absent without parental notification.

  In addition, West Lothian Council themselves conducted an extensive consultation following Rory’s death. I understand that the council now propose that every school in their area should use an automated call system to contact parents when an absence is recorded without any notification from a parent. They also propose that every primary school in the area be provided with funding to employ a playground supervisor every morning for twenty minutes before school starts, to deal with any issues that may arise at that time.

  The police investigation

  The police investigation into Rory’s disappearance and subsequent death also came under scrutiny. There were some criticisms over the speed at which the police operation had progressed and suggestions that there might have been scope for the police to have prevented Rory’s death.

  On Monday 29 August 2005, as the investigation into Rory’s murder had not reached a conclusion, Lothian and Borders Police requested a review of their investigation. This is standard ACPOS procedure in the investigation of this type of case. In this case, even after Simon Harris had been identified as the likely perpetrator of this crime, Lothian and Borders Police asked Strathclyde Police to continue with their review in order to identify areas of best practice or any areas worthy of improvement, which would help to shape future investigative and operational practice.

  The review report is generally positive. It makes a series of recommendations designed to enhance processes. They are more developmental than fundamental and include issues such as Access to Restricted Information. The report also highlights areas which are considered best practice, including, for example, Command Meetings and Investigative Processes.

  However, the review concluded that there was no course of action open to Lothian and Borders Police which could have prevented the death of Rory Blackhall, or would necessarily have led to Simon Harris being identified more expeditiously as the perpetrator. It also concludes that the actions taken in respect of Simon Harris’s non-appearance were appropriate. I am aware of the considerable degree of support that the force afforded the Blackhall family and the family’s acknowledgement of the professionalism and care shown to them by police throughout that difficult time.

  Conclusion

  In deciding whether it would be appropriate for me to instruct any further inquiry into these matters, I have had the benefit of a full report from the Procurator Fiscal at Linlithgow as well as the information arising from consideration by others of the issues to which I have already referred.

  After careful consideration of all these issues, and all the information and evidence available to me, I have decided that there is no necessity to instruct any further investigation or formal inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Rory Blackhall’s tragic death. Nor will there be any further investigation or inquiry into the death of Simon Harris.

  I believe that, where necessary, action has been taken to review and, if required, improve systems in place in relation to the issues which have arisen in the course of this investigation and which I have set out in this statement. I do not believe that anyone could have foreseen the tragic events of 18 August 2005, and there is no evidence to suggest that any one person or organisation could have done anything to prevent them. It is on that basis that I have decided that no Fatal Accident Inquiries will be held.

  The Blackhall family and the family of Simon Harris have been made aware of this decision, and it is in accordance with their wishes.

Mental Health

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications for a compulsory treatment order have not been heard by a tribunal panel because the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland was unable to provide a panel to hear the application, broken down by NHS board area.

Lewis Macdonald: Since the establishment of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland there have been no cases where the tribunal has been unable to provide a panel to hear an application.

Mental Health

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources will be available to NHS boards to make up for time spent by consultant psychiatrists before the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland.

Lewis Macdonald: Together with the record resources available to NHS boards additional funds have been allocated and announced to help deliver the provisions of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 as follows:

  

 
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08


(£ Million)
0.950
4.755
5.080
5.0
5.0



  It is for NHS boards in consultation with their partners, to determine how best to use the resources available to them, including consideration of support for consultant psychiatrists.

  We have commissioned a study into the operation of the tribunal, the tasks which different professional groups complete as part of the process and the time contributions made. The study will report in autumn 2006.

Mental Health

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources will be available to local authorities to make up for time spent by mental health officers before the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland.

Lewis Macdonald: Together with the record resources available to local authorities additional allocations have been made to help deliver the provisions of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 as follows:

  

 
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06


(£ Million) Revenue
1.2
12.5
13.0


(£ Million) Capital
-
2.0
2.0



  It is for each local authority in consultation with their partners, to determine how best to use the resources available to them, including consideration of support for mental health officers.

  We have commissioned a study into the operation of the tribunal, the tasks which different groups complete as part of the process and the time contributions made. The study will report in autumn 2006.

National Health Service

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22996 by Mr Andy Kerr on 2 March 2006, what information has been given to patients in respect of the shutdown at the Protein Fractionation Centre and the safety of products made under the circumstances that led to the shutdown.

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22995 by Mr Andy Kerr on 2 March 2006, whether it will list in detail (a) each risk assessment carried out at the Protein Fractionation Centre and its full outcome and (b) the actual risks calculated in respect of patient safety and describe, in scientific terms, what is meant by "any significant risks".

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22995 by Mr Andy Kerr on 2 March 2006, whether it will publish the communications between the Protein Fractionation Centre (PFC) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in respect of risk assessments carried out on products manufactured by the PFC.

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22994 by Mr Andy Kerr on 2 March 2006, whether it will provide details of the (a) specific areas of improvement found to be necessary and (b) parts of the production process affected as a result of the shutdown of the Protein Fractionation Centre and what specific risks each area of concern represents to the products, listing each risk and the products associated with each risk.

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22997 by Mr Andy Kerr on 2 March 2006, whether it or any of its agencies considered lessons from the past when deciding not to recall products made under the circumstances leading to the shutdown of the Protein Fractionation Centre.

Mr Andy Kerr: The safety and regulatory implications of the suspension of manufacturing at the Protein Fractionation Centre are being carefully reviewed as part of the response to the recent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency inspection. I cannot comment further on these aspects at present other than to confirm that patients are not affected as appropriate alternative arrangements for supply of blood products to the NHS are in place.

National Health Service

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4176 by Malcolm Chisholm on 10 December 2003, what the average number of cots available in neonatal units has been in each year since 2001-02, broken down by NHS board area.

Lewis Macdonald: Table 1: Average available staffed cots in neonatal units;

  By Health Board Area: Years Ending 31 March 2002-04

  

NHS Board
2002
2003
2004


Argyll and Clyde
28
27
28


Ayrshire and Arran
25
25
25


Borders
8
8
8


Dumfries and Galloway
12
5
10


Fife
20
20
17


Forth Valley
17
17
20


Greater Glasgow
78
78
80


Grampian
41
38
38


Highland
18
12
12


Lanarkshire
24
20
21


Lothian
59
58
58


Tayside
22
25
29


Scotland
351
332
347



  Source: ISD Scotland [ISD(S)1].

  The figures for year ending 31 March 2005 have not yet been verified and published.

Nuclear Waste

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that no new nuclear power stations are constructed until the waste management issue is resolved.

Allan Wilson: Under Section 36(1) of the Electricity Act 1989, consent of Scottish ministers is required to build any new generating station, including a nuclear power station, over 50 mega watts.

Oil Industry

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty’s Government about the possibility of transferring control of North Sea oil in Scottish waters to the Executive.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive has had no discussions with Her Majesty’s Government about the possibility of transferring control of North Sea oil to the Executive.

Oil Industry

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty’s Government about the impact of the creation of an oil fund from revenues secured by North Sea oil, similar to that which exists in Norway.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive has not had any discussions with Her Majesty’s Government about the impact of the creation of an oil fund from revenues secured by North Sea oil. North Sea Revenues are collected centrally at the UK level and the powers to introduce an oil fund are currently reserved to Westminster. Even if we allocate all North Sea revenues to Scotland, latest Scottish Executive figures show that under current arrangements Scotland runs a significant fiscal deficit.

Opencast Mining

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much opencast coal has been mined in each of the last 10 years.

Allan Wilson: The information is available from the British Geological survey and can be found at: http://www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/statistics/occ/home.html .

Opencast Mining

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the reserves of opencast coal that could be exploited in the future.

Allan Wilson: Details of consented reserves of opencast coal is available from the British Geological Survey at: http://www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/statistics/occ/home.html .

  Information on other reserves is not available.

Population

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its opinion is of the published findings by Robert E Wright of the Scottish Economic Policy Network that the current fertility rate is below the 35% replacement rate required to maintain a stable economy and that a programme should be implemented to reverse this decrease and what measures are being taken to increase Scotland’s fertility rate.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive recognises that demographic change is of profound importance to the economy of Scotland. The challenge of an ageing population, which results from falling birth rates and higher life expectancy, is common throughout the developed world, particularly in Europe. In order to better understand the trends and implications of demographic change for Scotland, the Executive has jointly commissioned, with the Economic and Social Research Council, six research projects covering three important facets of demographic change – fertility, ageing and migration. These projects, each being undertaken by leading Scottish academics (including Professor Robert Wright), are due to publish their findings by spring 2007. The Executive will study the findings of its commissioned research alongside any other relevant research.

  The Scottish Executive is addressing pressing demographic issues through policy initiatives such as Fresh Talent and through seeking to provide suitable child care and general family friendly policies.

Public Inquiries

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all public inquiries which have been commissioned since 1960 in Scotland relating to matters of a criminal nature, giving the dates, terms of reference, use of judges and others from other jurisdictions outwith Scotland and indicating whether the decision of the Lord Advocate to prosecute or not to prosecute has been included within the scope of the inquiry, who commissioned each inquiry, when it reported and what action was taken to implement its recommendations.

Colin Boyd QC: There is no central record of public inquiries so far as we are aware. There has been no public inquiry which has looked at the decision of the Lord Advocate whether or not to prosecute.

  In 1959, a tribunal was established under the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921, following a motion before the House of Commons that a Select Committee should inquire into the case of John Waters. The Waters Inquiry relied on the established principle that the prosecutor’s decision as to whether or not to bring a criminal prosecution is for the prosecuting authorities to decide on the merits of the case without political or other pressure. Founding on that principle the Waters Inquiry did not consider the decision of the Lord Advocate not to prosecute. As far as I am aware there has been no public inquiry since then which has deviated from this principle.

  The following are examples of public inquiries which have, inter alia, included consideration of matters potentially of a criminal nature.

  Orkney Inquiry 1991

  On 20 June 1991 Ian Lang, Secretary of State for Scotland appointed Lord Clyde to conduct an Inquiry into the removal of nine children from South Ronaldsay, Orkney to a place of safety on 27 February 1991.

  This inquiry considered the actings of Orkney Islands Council, in particular the Social Work Department and the Reporter to the Children’s Panel for that area, of the Northern Constabulary and of all persons acting on behalf of either of them, and into the effect of certain matters on those actings, including the decision to remove nine children and their actual removal to, and their detention in a place of safety.

  At the time of the Inquiry, there were no related on-going or completed criminal proceedings and the remit of the inquiry did not include consideration of any prosecutorial decisions by the Lord Advocate.

  Piper Alpha 1998

  On the 13 July 1988, the Secretary of State for Energy instructed an inquiry into the Piper Alpha disaster. Lord Cullen was commissioned to report on the circumstances of the accident and to make recommendations with a view to the preservation of life and the avoidance of similar accidents in the future. Lord Cullen chaired the Inquiry into the disaster in two parts. The first was to establish the causes of the disaster. The second part made recommendations as to the future safety regime. Lord Cullen’s recommendations in the final published report led to a complete change in approach to Health and Safety matters offshore, with repercussions for the entire offshore industry in the UK.

  Dunblane Inquiry 1996

  The Dunblane Inquiry, in 1996, involved inquiry into, and consideration of matters of a criminal nature, including evidence about matters reported to procurators fiscal by the police, and the reasons stated by the procurators fiscal for their decisions in relation to those matters. However, Lord Cullen stated clearly in his report that he did not consider it proper for the Inquiry to require prosecutors to justify their decisions, or to entertain submissions as to the sufficiency of what was put forward as the justification of those decisions.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what legal advice it has taken on the legality in both Scots law and international law of the process known as "extraordinary rendition".

Colin Boyd QC: The Scottish Executive does not generally disclose the legal advice it may have taken on any particular matter. Any such advice would, in any case, be confidential.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21583 by Colin Boyd QC on 22 December 2005, whether the Procurator Fiscal Service will investigate the allegations that US agencies have used Scottish airports as refuelling stops for flights engaged in the process of "extraordinary rendition" in the absence of any reports made to it from the police.

Colin Boyd QC: The police are responsible for conducting investigations into criminal offences and the police will act if and when there is information to justify such action. At present, no credible and reliable information exists to justify an investigation by the police.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21576 by Colin Boyd QC on 22 December 2005, whether the Lord Advocate will apply for a warrant in the future to allow police forces to search planes landing in Scotland and suspected of being used by US agencies to facilitate the process of "extraordinary rendition" if he suspects that such a process is taking place.

Colin Boyd QC: The decision as to whether it is necessary to apply to the court for a search warrant is taken in the context of a criminal investigation, having regard to all of the available information. I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-23747 on 14 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21667 by Cathy Jamieson on 18 January 2006, whether it expects Chief Constables to act only when evidence is presented of people "being brought into Scotland in such a way as to breach Scots law" or whether it expects them to act if information, intelligence, speculation or suspicion that such acts have taken place is brought to their attention.

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22705 by Colin Boyd QC on 7 February 2006, whether this answer indicates that the police only ever act on hard evidence and, if so, whether it can explain how crimes are investigated in the absence of hard evidence.

Colin Boyd QC: Speculation does not constitute a basis for a criminal investigation. To date, the police have received no credible and reliable information that any individual has been unlawfully conveyed through a Scottish airport. Procurators fiscal and the police will act if and when the information available justifies such action. Any person who has information that a crime has been or is to be committed in Scotland should take that information to the police.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22352 by Colin Boyd QC on 30 January 2006, whether it would consider any flight which was found to be involved in the process of "extraordinary rendition" as being aircraft used for military, customs or police business on behalf of the state engaged in the process.

Colin Boyd QC: The question as to the classification of an aircraft as either military or civilian aircraft will depend upon the application of the relevant domestic or international law to the particular facts.

  As I stated in my answer to question S2W-22352, "military aircraft" is defined in law. Section 92 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 defines military aircraft as an aircraft of the naval, military or air forces of any country; or any other aircraft in respect of which there is in force a certificate issued by the Secretary of State in accordance with any Order in Council in force under the Act that the aircraft is to be treated for the purposes of that Order in Council as a military aircraft.

Renewable Energy

Christine May (Central Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its plans are for the future of the Scottish Community and Household Renewables Initiative following the recent review.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative has been both successful and popular to the point where demand was so high that the Executive provided additional funding to its existing budget last year. However, in order for the scheme to continue to be successful and effectively focused, it needs to evolve. That is why we have had the independent review conducted. We are currently considering the results of the review and an announcement will be made shortly.

Renewable Energy

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22653 by Allan Wilson on 3 February 2006, whether a decision has yet been reached in respect of the proposed wind farm at Corlic Hill and, if so, what the decision is and when the report will be published.

Allan Wilson: This proposal is still being considered and I remain confident that a decision can be issued shortly.

Special Educational Needs

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children with learning difficulties were excluded from school in each year since 1999, broken down by (a) local authority, (b) primary school and (c) secondary school.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive does not hold this information from 1999. This breakdown of information has only been collated from 2004.

  Please see the following table:

  Number1 Exclusions Amongst Pupils with a Learning Difficulty2, 2003-04.

  

 
Primary
Secondary


2003-04
2004-05
2003-04
2004-05


Aberdeen City
9
18
18
27


Aberdeenshire
21
9
69
78


Angus
-
6
18
18


Argyll and Bute
6
-
36
42


Clackmannanshire
3
3
15
24


Dumfries and Galloway
3
3
42
51


Dundee City
12
12
78
81


East Ayrshire
18
9
54
39


East Dunbartonshire
-
-
3
-


East Lothian
-
3
36
12


East Renfrewshire
-
-
9
3


Edinburgh, City of
18
21
54
84


Eilean Siar
-
-
-
3


Falkirk
9
9
90
123


Fife
27
27
102
78


Glasgow City
15
18
21
78


Highland
3
3
12
18


Inverclyde
6
-
54
72


Midlothian
6
-
15
18


Moray
6
6
12
18


North Ayrshire
3
9
12
6


North Lanarkshire
12
12
69
105


Orkney Islands
-
-
9
-


Perth and Kinross
27
39
-
12


Renfrewshire
6
6
81
51


Scottish Borders
-
6
27
27


Shetland Islands
3
3
3
-


South Ayrshire
12
-
66
54


South Lanarkshire
15
12
84
108


Stirling
-
-
3
-


West Dunbartonshire
3
-
36
18


West Lothian
30
12
51
54



  Notes:

  1. Data has been rounded to the nearest three to avoid data disclosure.

  2. Data includes pupils with RoN/IEP for the following categories: moderate, severe, profound or specific learning difficulties or complex or multiple impairments involving learning difficulties. In 2003-04, main difficulty of learning data was not available for 1,819 pupils and in 2004-05 it was not available for 1,760 pupils.

Supporting People

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any consultation has taken place on the replacement of the Supporting People fund.

Malcolm Chisholm: We have no plans to replace the Supporting People programme in Scotland, which helped over 170,000 vulnerable people to live independently in their communities in 2004-05.

  We will consider any changes to the Supporting People programme in England that may arise in the light of consultations carried out by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister but, as a devolved programme, we are free to administer and develop the programme as we judge best for Scotland.

  If change to the programme here were to be considered, it would be subject to full consultation with a wide range of stakeholders in the normal way. We will be consulting shortly on technical aspects relating to better ways of evidencing the impact of Supporting People funding and the potential to make monitoring arrangements more outcome focussed. These proposals will not affect the key principles of the programme.

Vulnerable Adults

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what safeguards are put in place to ensure that vulnerable adults are placed in appropriate supported accommodation.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive provides significant resources to local authorities for the support of vulnerable adults. Local authorities are best placed to determine local needs and to secure the care services required by vulnerable adults in their area. Care services are subject to statutory inspection by the Care Commission.